Robotic vs. Traditional Mowers
March 2, 2021
A robotic mower operates with minimal time and effort needed from you. It’s a lifestyle-friendly mower that gives you back time with assurance that your lawn is well cared for. Lowes has a great blog post that talks about robotic lawn mowers.
What is a robotic mower?
A robotic mower is a relatively small, battery-powered mower. Once the mowing area is defined with boundary wire and the mower programmed, a robotic mower can keep your lawn trimmed — functioning similarly to the way a robotic vacuum keeps carpets clean. Based on that program, the robot mower starts, exits its charging station and mows the grass within an area defined by a boundary wire. Typically, the robotic lawn mower takes random paths across the area, trimming away a small part of the grass in its path until it encounters a boundary wire or obstacle. Then, it turns and heads in another direction, mowing until it encounters another boundary wire or obstacle, or needs to return to its station for a recharge. Most models can mow level lawns with no problem. Others can handle hills and steep inclines. Some models have wifi and/or Bluetooth connectivity, and theft-deterrent systems such as alarms, GPS tracking and activation codes.
Benefits of a robotic mower
Why would you choose a robotic mower over a push or riding mower? Robotic mowers have unique features that make them stand out from traditional mowers.
- The move obvious benefit is convenience. You don't have to mow your lawn.
- Robotic mowers mow in random patterns. This means they don’t create rows of wheel ruts that can prevent the grass from growing upright.
- You don’t need to remember to keep the battery of a robotic mower charged. The robotic lawn mower returns to its charging station when needed and begins mowing again once charged.
- Since they rely on boundary and guide wires or sensors to define the limits of the lawn and are much quieter than gasoline-powered mowers, some robotic mowers are capable of mowing at night.
- Robotic mowers are designed to trim the grass blades a little at a time. This is healthier for the turf.
- Robotic mowers require less storage space.
Things to keep in mind
- You need to program your robotic mower to mow often enough so that it only takes off an inch or less of the blade length.
- If you own dogs or other pets, you'll have to keep to yard cleaned up, if you know what I mean.
- Some of the features, like wifi connectivity or theft deterrence, can be pricey.
- Depending on trees and other obstacles in your yard, you may find that your robotic mower consistently leaves uncut patches.
- Some models may not be able to handle the size of your yard before they have to return to their charging station. Most models can handle an typical suburban-size lawn. Others can handle as much as an acre at a time.